By Adriana Gómez Licón
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Tx. -- Jurors took only about an hour Wednesday to acquit a 24-year-old man on charges of assaulting a police officer.
The defendant, Oscar Marquez, looked relieved as state District Judge Bonnie Rangel read the jury’s not-guilty verdicts on both counts. Marquez declined to comment afterward.
His lawyer Theresa Caballero said the focal points in the trial were police Sgt. Louis Johnson’s work record and a program, called DIMS, used by the district attorney’s staff to process criminal suspects such as Marquez without presenting them to a judge.
“The verdict is a condemnation of Johnson, DIMS and the district attorney’s office,” she said.
Marquez’s case began in 2004. Johnson and another officer responded to a domestic violence call in Central El Paso that did not involve Marquez. But Johnson focused on Marquez, then 18, after seeing him on the street with a bottle of beer. Violence followed.
Caballero, in her closing argument, said Johnson beat the teenager, losing sight of the domestic case he had been called to. Fellow defense attorney Stuart Leeds picked up on this theme in his final argument, saying Johnson failed to attend a wife-beating call because he was busy arresting Marquez.
Leeds and Caballero also showed jurors a photo of Marquez after his arrest. A large scrape was visible on the left side of his face.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Spinn said in his closing argument that Marquez struck Johnson with his knee and kicked him while trying to escape the officers.
But even Johnson’s partner testified Tuesday that Marquez was not guilty of assaulting the police officer. As for Marquez’s facial injury, Spinn said it was caused not by a beating but because officers pushed him when they handcuffed him.
Caballero, who had examined internal affairs reports, said Johnson has an extensive record of using unnecessary force.
She called Mayor John Cook and City Manager Joyce Wilson as witnesses to try to highlight Johnson’s work history and how police officers use the DIMS program. Rangel, though, decided not to let the jury hear from either city official.
Last year, Johnson shot and killed a 31-year-old man near Mesa and Cincinnati streets after an off-and-on pursuit that lasted hours. Johnson said that the man, Ruben Troncoso, drove toward another officer when he shot and killed him. The police administration in December ruled that the shooting was justified.
But even Spinn admitted in his closing argument that Johnson was not a witness the jury would care for.
“Sergeant Johnson isn’t likeable, but just because he’s not likeable doesn’t mean he’s lying,” Spinn said in asking jurors to convict Marquez.
The DIMS program was another factor in the jury’s decision. As jurors deliberated, they passed a question to the court about the district attorney’s Information Management System. The program was a heated issue when Caballero unsuccessfully ran against Jaime Esparza, the sitting district attorney, in 2007.
Caballero said Esparza is violating the rights of thousands of people by running the program because it allows suspects to be jailed before appearing in front of a magistrate. The district attorney’s staff reviews the case and recommends the bond, Esparza said.
Marquez was processed under the DIMS system. One of Esparza’s assistants, Jim Callan, testified at Marquez’s trial about how DIMS worked.
In a note made public after their verdict, jurors objected to the system that was used, saying: “Questionable issues arose in this case dealing with policies in DIMS relating to bond and magistrate issues.”
Esparza said the program shortens the time it takes to process criminal cases. He said 19 percent of cases do not proceed under DIMS.
“I take advantage of that technology and the ability to review the cases quickly,” he said.
Copyright 2010 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper